Once again featuring "gritty tales told with panache, [a] must-read for anybody who cares about crime stories" (Booklist), this edition of Best American Mysteries is guided by Lee Child, the Anthony, Barry, and Nero Award–winning creator of 14 Jack Reacher thrillers. Here are suspenseful tales from Mary Stewart Atwell, Dennis Lehane, Phillip Margolin, Lynda Leidiger, and Kurt Vonnegut. Since its inception in 1915, the Best American series has become the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. For this title, as for each of the others, a series editor reviews hundreds of periodicals, then selects between 50 and 100 outstanding works. The guest editor—a recognized expert in the field—then pares the list down to the 20 or so very best pieces.